The decision to film the Milk movie in the Castro could provide the city's gay neighborhood with
something many say it has been lacking in recent years: star power.

Business leaders and tourism professionals are banking on
the likelihood that the film, starring Oscar winner Sean Penn as the late
Supervisor Harvey Milk and directed by Oscar nominee Gus Van Sant, will be a
box office smash and critical darling. In turn, they are envisioning that the
movie's success will lure travelers, both gay and straight, to visit San
Francisco.

"We think that using the film could be a great
opportunity. Naturally, the ultimate quality will mean a lot, but it certainly
is something that we are exploring," said Joe D'Alessandro, the openly gay
executive director of the city's convention and tourism bureau.

For some time business and civic leaders have fretted that
the Castro has lost its luster since its heyday in the 1970s, when it
transformed seemingly overnight from being a run-down section of town to an
international gay mecca.

AIDS nearly wiped out the Castro in the 1980s and the
neighborhood's re-emergence in the 1990s cratered again after the dot-com
downturn a decade later. Skyrocketing real estate prices have further eroded
the Castro's gay population and made it increasingly unaffordable for younger
LGBT people to call home.

In recent years talk has turned to everything from erecting
a giant rainbow sign and installing gigantic ruby red slippers to banning chain
stores and drawing more unique shops to the Castro as ways to boost business
and bring renewed excitement to the area.

With newer gayborhoods constantly emerging in cities across
the country, the Castro has seen its gay cachet diminished. Younger LGBT people
no longer need to travel long distances to find gay bars, shops or a community
to call their own.

"Over recent years we have experienced a decline in
tourism. Many cities have gay areas now," said Kathy Amendola, owner of
the Cruisin' the Castro tours. "I feel like the Castro is not another
neighborhood where it is just gay flags are being raised. It is the heart and
soul politically, financially, and culturally of the LGBT culture. We just
didn't turn gay overnight."

With the Milk movie
not just depicting the life of Milk, the country's first openly gay man elected
to public office, but also of the neighborhood's role in the birth of the gay
rights movement, the hope is it will be a panacea for the Castro's recent
problems. Herb Cohn, president of the Castro Upper Market Community Benefit
District board, said the exposure the Castro will receive from the film could
translate into a boon for local businesses.

"We believe this film, by highlighting the Castro, will
be very beneficial to everyone involved, including the businesses," said
Cohn, who is also a Merchants of Upper Market and Castro board member.
"The film is not only about Harvey's life but really is a film about the
Castro as well. It raises the profile of the neighborhood, and that is a good
thing for businesses in the neighborhood."

Even the filmmakers have said they hope their movie will
lead to a bump up in tourism and be a fiscal benefit to the Castro.

"Our great hope is this will revitalize this district
and make it a major tourist destination," Dan Jinks, one of the movie's
producers, said at a meeting last month with business owners.

The local tourism board is already discussing how to take
advantage of the city's and the Castro's star turns in the film. D'Alessandro
pointed out that many cities use movies to help in promotion, including San
Francisco.

As examples he listed European draws Salzburg, which still
uses the Sound of Music, and Rome, which
draws on Roman Holiday and Three
Coins in A Fountain. In the United States,
he pointed to how Astoria, Oregon advertised itself based on the film Kindergarten
Cop and Dyersville, Iowa turned its role in
Field of Dreams into a marketing
ploy.

"We still use Vertigo frequently. Also, people always want to see where Dirty Harry
was filmed, where Mrs. Doubtfire
lived or where their favorite scene in the Pursuit
of Happyness took place," said
D'Alessandro.

The movie travel tie-ins especially come into play when the
films become classics, he said.

"The key is that the movie has to be successful, a
classic, or have a cult following," said D'Alessandro.

Working to San Francisco's

Production crew members bring the renowned gay bar Toad
Hall back to Castro Street as they prepare for filming Milk
. Photo: Rick Gerharter

advantage is that no other gay
neighborhood has had quite the role that the Castro will play in the Milk
biopic. The film crew has reverted the streetscape
back to its 1970s setting and began shooting scenes along Castro Street last
week. Next week the production is set to film several march scenes in the
neighborhood.

"There have been very few films with this kind of
scope. This is a major film, and I don't think we have seen a gay neighborhood
made over like this before," said Jerry McHugh, a senior research director
at the gay-focused Community Marketing Inc. "It shows the Castro off in
ways recent visitors haven't seen it."

The last gay-themed film to be showered with attention was Brokeback
Mountain. But the gay cowboy movie did not
showcase any gay neighborhoods. McHugh said the only gay film he could recall
driving up visits to an LGBT destination was The Birdcage
, the American remake of La Cage aux Folles
starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.
The movie was set in Florida's gay-friendly South Beach area near Miami.

Instead of selling a beach vacation, the Milk
movie could tap into people's desire to visit places
with a connection to past events, said McHugh.

"Because of the historical reference to it, tourism
could be more impacted than say, a gay couple meeting the religious right and
trying to save face," he said, referring to The Birdcage
's plot. "Right now, politics regarding gays and
lesbians is a bigger issue than it ever has been."

While Amendola said international visitors continue to take
her tours, domestic travelers have dropped off. She predicted that the movie
will be a success and draw American tourists back to town.

"Absolutely. This film with Sean Penn in it takes it to
the Academy Award level and this film will win an Oscar," she said.
"That is really going to be the floodgates opening."

The film has already brought positive changes to the Castro
that local leaders say will improve visitors' experiences. The most visible
difference to date has been an upgrade to the Castro Theatre's marquee and neon
sign.

"The Castro Theatre sign has looked rather bleak for at
least 20 years because I have been here that long, and to me, it has always
been blah," said McHugh.

The new sign alone, will lure visitors, said McHugh.

"Now it is a vibrant, red sign. It announces the
neighborhood," he said. "It doesn't blend in. It is kind of in your
face."

Steve Adams, president of the area's merchant group, said
the sign is an even bigger draw for photo-snapping tourists than the humongous
rainbow flag at the corner of Castro and Market streets.

"People take pictures in front of that sign. They don't
take pictures of themselves with the flag," he said. "That sign has
been in disarray for years so just having that working properly is going to be
great."

The movie has already brought international attention to the
neighborhood, as media flock to the Castro to report on the filming. Gay
bloggers are also boosting interest with near daily posts about the movie on
their Web sites.

"I did an interview with the local NBC station, and my
brother in Washington, D.C. saw it on his NBC station. The affiliates around
the country are picking up on it," said Adams.

From the windows of his second floor offices overlooking
Castro Street, McHugh has been able to observe the movie being filmed below. He
said traffic to the neighborhood, despite the wet weather in recent weeks, has
already increased.

"The Castro is already crowded. There are hundreds of
people watching. They are not shopping; they are watching," said McHugh.
"If they are coming during their lunch hour, they are probably more likely
to eat lunch here. It is impacting the neighborhood that way."

Adams is hoping people's interest in visiting the Castro
will only increase when the film is released.

"Once it is done and they do show the movie, I hope
that people will come see the Castro and see that big Castro Theatre sign and
will want to come here to shop, eat and drink," he said.